buy one get one free - mountain bikes

There was a documentary on one of the English Channels last night about the british economy and part of it focused on the effects of outsourcing their manufacturing industry.

They visited the former Raleigh bike factory which is now basically a warehouse because Raleigh bikes are being made in low cost economies and imported into the UK.

The MD of Raleigh mentioned that they were competing with companies who could import a mountain bike for £40 sterling. He suggested that these cheap bikes wouldn't last as long as bikes used to. That might have been his biased spin.

But it is worth asking if this Buy one Get one Free is a case of someone pulling a HMV. i.e charging twice as much for something and claiming to be giving you one free.

-Rd
 
yes but if you compare prices to any bikes here it's still good value

has anyone ordered from these? was there extra charge to deliver to ireland?
 
from the website:


I might order a couple.
 
yes but if you compare prices to any bikes here it's still good value

That's true I suppose. If you try to buy a bicycle here it's probably coming out of the same factory in some low cost economy but you're paying much more.

At least with two for one if the head of Raleigh is right and these bikes fall apart, you've got a spare.

Yes. We do ship to all UK addresses, including the Channel Islands, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

Being considered part of the UK for the purposes of shipping has saved me a small fortune over the years.

-Rd
 
One thing to note about such "mountain" bikes is that they may actually be road bikes and not suited to tough off-road/mountain biking in case that's what anybody expects. For such use one would generally need a decent frame (e.g. Reynolds 531 or the like frame with good lugs joining the pieces of the frame together etc.) and components and not the sort of normal steel frame with brazed (soldered) tubing and cheaper components used on many cheap road bikes. Not saying that there's anything wrong with them but just make sure that you buy the approrpiate bike for your needs.
 
One thing to note about such "mountain" bikes is that they may actually be road bikes and not suited to tough off-road/mountain biking in case that's what anybody expects.

I was hoping that they weren't too mountainbikesque - I want a road bike.

Thanks for pointing that out.
 
Lidl and other outlets sometimes have offers this cheap for mountain bikes. I got a mountain bike for €70 in an O2 offer a few years ago.
 
Don't forget that for road use you'll need to add components such as mudguards, carriers etc. I hate the way many outlets sell road/commuter bikes without such essentials...
 
take my advice and buy a decent brand if you really want a bike. You'll probably end up tossing those pieces of crap out before long, and miss out in the joy of cycling in the process.

And remember buying something cheap that you don't need is like stealing from yourself.

The good brands like giant trek and specialized are coming down in price all the time.
 
Yeah I'm looking to buy a decent off road mountain bike that will be able to stand rough terrain. I've a strange feeling these aren't the bikes for me & would probably fall apart as soon as the're put to the test.

You get nothing for nothing is this world mate!